YouTube – John Healy's Tech Blog

YouTube Example 2010

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May 182011

Video shot in full HD (1080i) and encoded to 640 x 360 (360p) for YouTube SD widescreen (16:9).

YouTube Example 2000

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Sep 012007

LobsterFest 2000 Band Clip

macOS 10.14 — mountains to the desert — High Sierra to Mojave
Today Apple officially released a new version of its macOS. The name of the new system — “Mojave” — celebrates the desert rather than the mountains of the High Sierra, and updates to version 10.14 from 10.13.6. Available on your Mac from the Apple Menu > App Store > Featured > Mac App Store, Apple [Continue reading]
iOS 12 — what’s new in Apple’s iPhone system upgrade
It’s that time of year again. New Apple devices. New iPhones and watches, and new versions of the stuff that makes them work. MacWorld highlights the best new features in iOS 12 in this article: “How to use the coolest new features in iOS 12” (September 17, 2018). At last, iOS 12 is here, bringing [Continue reading]
Google privacy settings — check how you’re tracked
Another go at this topic, this time by PC World. The Google ecosytem is impressive, with devices and services which we use on a daily basis. Lots of services: search, contacts, calendar, web browsing, etc. Google Assistant, the digital personal assistant (butler). Lots of Google apps on our Android-powered smartphones. Google programs on our notebook [Continue reading]
Best PC anti-virus program?
An annual review by PC World: “Best antivirus: Keep your Windows PC safe from spyware, Trojans, malware, and more” (updated August 27, 2018): Antivirus software is nearly as crucial as a PC’s operating system. Even if you’re well aware of potential threats and practice extreme caution, some threats just can’t be prevented without the extra [Continue reading]
Charging your smartphone battery — best practices
I’ve followed this topic for years: When and how often to charge your smartphone’s battery. What to do and not — in order to prolong the usable life of that battery (and so not worry about replacing the battery before you’re ready to get a new smartphone, eh). For many of us, charging the battery [Continue reading]
Mute web page videos — Apple Safari Auto-Play settings
Safari > Preferences > Websites > Auto-Play and audio for web site videos The other day a client thought that her built-in (internal) Apple computer’s speakers weren’t working. Well, more specifically, on her favorite news site, posted videos were playing without sound — muted. Her iMac recently had been upgraded to the latest macOS version. [Continue reading]
GDPR privacy notifications — primrose path of default settings
I’ve been getting a lot of privacy policy update notifications in my email since last month. As part of terms and conditions for use of a product or service. All in response to the GDPR — General Data Protection Regulation, a European Union Regulation which was implemented on May 25, 2018. Many companies sell products and [Continue reading]
Phishing attacks — fake “Apple” emails
I’ve noticed these types of scams for awhile: email messages (supposedly) from Apple purportedly about a payment or Apple ID or login from another device (which in fact you may not own). More and more email apps (especially on mobile devices) do not permit examination of the raw message text, which often permits detection of [Continue reading]
Spectre and Meltdown — Intel patches progress
Yesterday, PC World posted some articles regarding progress in the continuing Spectre and Meltdown saga. Intel quietly releases Spectre fixes for Haswell and Broadwell CPUs The fixed Spectre fixes are coming fast and furious now. Intel quietly pushed CPU firmware updates out for Haswell (4th-generation) and Broadwell (5th-generation) processors earlier this week, following in the [Continue reading]